Following on from the previous Doorstep Adventure I continued the theme of following the waterways that passed through the place I live.

Looking at my OS Maps I decided to follow the River Dee starting in Eccleston Ferry, just ten minutes drive away. I have been here many times to walk the dog but tend to follow the river in the direction of the city, going with the river’s flow. I had yet to follow it in the other direction, for no other reason than I had never got around to it.
 
Parking in the small car park I headed towards the river taking the path to the right, instead of the left as I would normally do. The path entered a wooded area whose trees wore subtle hints that autumn was on its way. It still felt like summer though, with warm temperatures, blue skies and bright sunshine.

The path follows the river’s edge so I would often stop to watch the river slowly drift passed, waving to canoeists and people in small boats on the water. Walking through the woods I was surrounded by an array of beautiful birdsong and beams of light that shone through the high canopy. Further along the path passes behind Eaton Hall, its wrought iron fences coming into view. Here the stretch of the river feels quite wild with its banks overgrowing with vegetation and the wildlife was in abundance!

Meandering on, the path eventually left the riverside and took a curve inland passing a large field at the Crook of Dee. Passing by a lovely house on the edge of the Eaton Hall Estate it soon re-entered the woodland and took care on the muddy path that began to narrow. It eventually led to an access road where I joined it to cross the beautiful bridge over the river, re-joining the path on the other side.

It was evident that the path along this side of the river wasn’t used as much as the one I had come from as it was pretty overgrown in parts and I often had to duck under low hanging branches, using my walking pole to bushwhack through the thicket (a reason why I always carry a single pole with me). After a short while of feeling like I was in the jungle I came to a small cove on the river where I sat to have my lunch, watching the fishes in the shallow water. As time wore on, a couple of canoeist passed by and having given them a wave I packed up my flask and ventured on. Fortunately you can leave the overgrown path and follow it parallel at the edge of a field behind the village of Aldford. This made it much easier than trying to fight through overgrowing brambles.

Passing through a gate the path continued through woodland with the river still in sight before it opened up to a large area of lush green pastures. It was a lovely sight and I could see a tractor carrying out the harvest in the next field, followed closely by a flock of birds.

Here I sat down for a while to watch the natural world go by and enjoy the sun’s warmth on my face. I could have easily stayed there for hours but looking at my watch I decided that it was time to head back.

I retraced my route, enjoying being immersed in the natural surroundings. Passing through the woodlands, through the jungle and over the bridge I followed the path all the way back to where I had started, stopping to chat with some people along the way.

This was a few free hours on a Sunday very well spent and I promised myself that I would do the route again, this time walking all away to the village of Farndon. It really is easy to take for granted what you have on your doorstep and I have really enjoyed exploring areas around my hometown. There certainly is so much to see and experience!

I’m terrible for this. A free weekend inevitably sees me pack up my kit and head straight from work to the hills on Friday night for a couple days walking & wild camping. What’s the problem with this you may ask, and there isn’t one really, but it means that that I tend to take the place I live for granted. Sure, I don’t step out of my door to be met by a mighty peak or venture into a vast wilderness beyond the gate where I can walk for days without bumping into anyone but this doesn’t mean that there aren’t loads of lovely places brimming with wildlife in and around my area that I have yet to discover.

It happened that I had two weekends in a row where the Sunday was free so I decided to go somewhere new in and around where I live. The aim was also not to have to drive anywhere, or at least no more than ten minutes. Looking at the map I decided to follow the waterways in the area, one being the River Dee and the other the Canal.

And so, the first Sunday I looked at the maps to see how far I could walk down the Shropshire Union Canal and whether I could follow it all the way to Nantwich. It seemed perfectly doable and I reckoned I could get all the way to Nantwich in about 5hrs. Here I would then get the bus back home.

Of I set with a small rucksack with a couple of bits of kit and my lunch, closing the front door behind me as I made my way to the point where I could pick up the canal tow path.

Straight away I was met with the sight of the waterways and some bright and beautiful canal boats and barges, each adorned with their own individual names. This is a particularly busy part of the canal with people out on the tow path enjoying Sunday strolls and family bike rides, thus creating a lovely, easy-going atmosphere. I walked along passing ducks and moorhens eagerly waiting for snacks from passers-by, eventually entering part of the canal where people’s gardens met the water's edge.

I looked on in envy at each of these beautiful gardens that had direct access to the canal, some with decked areas where they could sit and watch the water world go by, many with small rowing boats tied up. The ones with the fire pits and chimineas were my favourite! After watching a cat try to stalk a few ducks that were hanging around one of the garden (unsuccessfully I might add) I was met with part of the path that had a tree overhanging, causing a bit of an obstruction. At this point I could see another person approaching so waited to let them through. They actually did the same and very kindly let me go through first. Here we passed some pleasantries before engaging in a full-blown conversation about mountains, climbing, Snowdonia and books about mountains and climbing. Who would have thought that I would have met a fellow mountain and adventure enthusiast on a canal tow path, just by absolute chance?

iIt was rather serendipitous and we had the most fantastic and fascinating conversation stood there by the canal. The chap actually lived on a boat there so gave me lots of information about the wildlife he often sees. The thing was that before we knew it we had been stood there chatting for an hour and a half! After saying farewell I continued on, soon realising that I would probably not make it to Nantwich in time to catch a bus. This really wasn’t a problem as I had enjoyed our conversation so much so decided to press on and walk as far as I could by a certain time, to which I would then turn around and retrace my route back home.

As I passed the chap’s boat I kept an eye out for the kingfisher he said he usually sees. Lo and behold, a quick flash of electric blue and there it was, perched on a post on the other side of the canal.

I walked further passing more interesting gardens and a barge that was certainly made for me called 'Mountain Dreamer'. As I began to leave the villages the canal took an interesting change. It became very overgrown either side with the evasive Himalayan Balsam blocking the edge.

It suddenly began to feel rather wild, not where you would expect a boat to cruise past. Here the wildlife truly flourished and I nearly bumped into a Heron who was stood on the path ahead of me. He only decided to fly off as I approached giving me a spectacular view of his wing span as he headed down the canal.

Passing under bridges and walking parallel to farmland I suddenly spotted something poking out of the hedge. A first it just looked like a small plastic box but on further investigation it was actually a Geocache. Popping it back in its location I walked further along the canal until I spotted something rather unusual fluttering in the wind. Attached to a moored barge was a black flag with skull and crossbones! Pirates!

Approaching carefully so not to disturb the infamous Canal Pirates I could see that next to the barge was a cool little shed and a large canvas tent with structures made from willow inside. There also seemed to be a stone pizza oven type structure. This was a full living set-up and a sign pointed out that you could do willow weaving courses there. How fantastic, this pirate’s life was not at sea but more so at the canalside.

Looking at my watch I realised that it was time to make a move back, so swung my rucksack on my back and off I set the way I had come, again saying hello to the waterside community and the Pirate. Back along the path, under bridges, watching the wildlife enjoy their surroundings I was soon back where I started on the tow path. Making my way back home I thought about all the things I had seen and experienced on my short walk down the canal that is so close to my home.

It is very easy to take for granted the things on your doorstep, especially with the lure of mountains and wild terrain. Let’s not forget though that there are so many places to discover that boast a different but equally fulfilling  experience. On that Sunday I was glad to have made the most of it.